Minority
by cneko2
Summary: What if there were more people in the world like Gaara and Naruto? What if there were an Organization dedicated to 'helping' these unfortunate souls? What if it set sights on everyone's favorite Demon Boys? GaaNaru and KakaIru
1. I wanna be the minority

Because I need another GaaNaru epic eating my life right now. Really.

Anyways, this was inspired by a lovely piece of Japanese fanart that someone posted over on the GaaNaru LJ community. I've got it as my background and it took an old fic idea of mine and began merge and warp it. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite as distrubing as seeing plot bunnies merge into each other.

Anyways, enjoy.

Disclaimer Dance: Not mine, see? If it was mine...well, lets just say Gaara would be around a lot more. And there would be blatant KakaIru lovin' going on.

* * *

It was late in the Hokage Tower and Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of the Village of Hidden Leaf, was to the point where if she had to look at one more scroll after this she was going to shred it with her finely manicured nails.

Giving a hefty sigh, she turned to the Chunin next to her. Iruka gave her a smile that looked as tired as she felt.

"One more team to sort out and then we can both call it a night, Hokage-sama."

She nodded and returned to the task before them, sorting the lastest academy graduates into teams to be trained together. If she didn't know better, she'd almost say the man next to her was more anxious to leave than she. Well, of course he was anxious to leave, who wouldn't be? But for different reasons, she suspected. Then she remembered that Team 7 had returned home this evening.

With a sly smile she turned to her subordinate. "So is it the brat or Kakashi you're so eager to run off to?"

"Hokage-sama!" Came the strained reply with a stain of pink across the chunin's cheeks.

Ah. Kakashi then.

Waving a dismissing hand, she turned back to the task at hand. "Well, let's get this done so you can go give your scarecrow a proper homecoming."

Really, it was just _so_ amusing to watch Iruka sputter and turn colors. However, there was work to be done, so she put her fun aside for the moment and returned to a more serious state. And then, there was a knock on the door.

She called out with a weary "Enter.", expecting Shizune or some other clerk to come in with _more_ scrolls.

The figure that entered the room was neither Shizune, nor a clerk. In fact, he wasn't even a resident of Konoha at all. It was a man, perhaps about Iruka's height with a slightly bulkier build. He wore an impeccable grey suit and had slicked back black hair. Tsunade smelled a bureaucrat. Iruka shifted closer beside her, instantly as wary of the man as she was.

He approached her desk and bowed graciously before speaking.

"Godaime-sama, I am honored to meet with you."

Oh, yes. _Definitely_ a bureaucrat.

He then continued. "I am Sato, and I represent a particular organization that has gained the support of the Lord of Fire Country in recent months."

Tsunade arched an eyebrow at this. "How may I help you, Sato-san?"

"Sixteen years ago, the most respected Yondaime sealed Kyubi no Kitsune who had attacked the village into a child. A host. My organization is dedicated to finding and helping individuals such as the host to Kyuubi no Kitsune. We help them to live normal lives and to learn to use the powers they are cursed with for the good of all."

Beside her, Iruka had drawn a sucking breath and gone quite still. She had to agree with the teacher. There was something about the way the man had said '_cursed_' that she didn't like.

"I appreciate your offer, Sato-san. But I assure you, the host of Kyubi no Kitsune is living as normal a life as he will get and has used his...gifts to protect the village and the greater good a number of times." It was a clear dismissal.

Sato smiled as smile akin to that of a piranha. "You misunderstand me, Hokage-sama. I am not offering. I have here an order from the Lord of Fire Country stating that you _will_ turn over Kyubi no Kitsune's host to us. For the greater good and safety of the country, of course." He reached into a pocket within his suit jacket and pulled forth a very official looking document. Placing it on the desk, he allowed Tsunade to read it, her brown eyes narrowing with every sentence.

"The Lord of Fire Country does not hold that type of power over the ninjas of Konoha. And since the Host has been a ninja of Konoha for the past several years, that applies to him. I will not turn over one of my ninjas."

"Ah. We figured you would say as much. That is why I must inform you that we already have Uzumaki Naruto within our possession. And since he is now outside of Konoha borders, this edict holds a good deal of power, so I must ask you to not send a team out after him. Good evening, Hokage-sama."

Sato returned the document to his jacket pocket and calmly exited the room through the large double doors. Tsunade watched him leave with hard eyes. She turned to Iruka who had slight tremors running through his lanky frame.

"Hokage-sama..."

"Go. And report back to me immediately if what he says is true."

The chunin nodded and disappeared into the night.

Ten minutes later he was racing up the stairs to Naruto's apartment, his feeling of foreboding increasing with each step. Upon reaching the door, he saw that it was off its hinges and the main room of the apartment was a mess. Furniture was scattered and knocked over everywhere. Scorch marks littered the walls.

"Naruto!" he called out running through the apartment, checking each room. But there was no answer. Only the signs of a great struggle, and there in the middle of the living room floor a scrap of paper. He picked it up and examined it. It was an Ofuda.

Whoever had kidnapped Naruto had known how to subdue a demon.

And suddenly, Iruka knew exactly how any parent who had ever lost a child felt.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto woke up in a great deal of pain. Which was odd because he generally healed quickly, but it seemed this time that Kyuubi wasn't doing his job.

Kyuubi!!

It all came rushing back. He had walked into his apartment last night, dead tired from a month long mission and was looking forward to nothing but sleep. But there had already been people in his apartment. Masked people, who where apparently waiting for him.

He had busted in and they had fought. They had been good. They had known how to avoid his own chakra moves and makes sure that Kyuubi's power was minimally tapped. One had gotten him in a hold long enough for another to pull out some weird paper strips. The paper! The paper had been excruciating when they placed it on his body. So much that he had passed out from the pain.

Which led to the question, where was he now?

Giving a small groan, he tried to lift and arm and found it was attached to something. Opening his eyes, he found it was attached to an arm. Well, actually a wrist. His own tan arm and another paler arm were linked together by two bracelets of iron with a length of chain connecting them. Handcuffs. And on the handcuffs were engraved many symbols that made his hand a little tingly.

Blue eyes widened at the handcuffs and followed the pale arm up to a body that was wearing red and brown clothing, up the neck and directly up to a pale face with dark circles around mint green eyes, blood red hair and an 'ai' tattoo on the forehead.

The scowling face of Gaara of the Desert.

He was handcuffed to Gaara of the Desert.

"Oh, shit."


	2. I don't need your authority

Hmmm...wow. That was fast.

Cneko: _glares at Kakashi_

Kakashi: _waves cheerfully_

Cneko: You are such a bitch to write...

Kakashi: Good. It means I'm keeping my 'man of mystery' aura.

Cneko:_snort_ whatever.

Enjoy folks.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was warm and snuggly in bed. Granted it wasn't his own bed and at the moment he wasn't sharing it with the owner, but that was alright because eventually the owner would return and make the bed even _more_ warm and snuggly and quite a few other things besides.

Speaking of the owner, he heard footsteps on the edge of his subconscious right now. He shifted just slightly, sleepily certain that the owner of the bed would quietly join him and perhaps wake him up a bit more in a more pleasurable manner. He had been gone a month after all.

The owner of said bed instead yanked off the nice warm sheets and gave him a good hard nudge to the ribs.

"Get up." It was not a request. What the hell kind of bee did Iruka have in his bonnet now? Was this for leaving his Icha Icha books around the apartment again?

Instead of getting up, he grumbled a bit and snuggled deeper into the warmth. The nudge from before became a full fledged kick.

"Get the fuck up, Kakashi."

_That_ woke him up. Umino Iruka did many things, but cursing was usually not one of them. He sat up and peered at the scarred man from one dark eye. Before him was not the usual cheerful and shy figure of his lover. Before him was a man that was shaking badly and had the look of one who just had their most treasured possession snatched away in front of their eyes.

"'ruka?"

"Get dressed, we have to go to Hokage-sama." The other said turning.

"Iruka, what's wrong?"

Iruka didn't answer, but tossed a scrap of paper at the silver haired man and rubbed a forearm across his eyes roughly. Kakashi caught the paper with expert reflexes and glanced at it puzzled.

"An Ofuda?" he asked, still puzzled.

"Get dressed, we have to go." Iruka replied in a strained voice, scrubbing at his eyes again.

He placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Not until you tell me what's going..."

There was a muffled sound, much like a sob. Kakashi then realized the other man was scrubbing away the tears that were falling down his cheeks. Iruka was crying...but Iruka never cried. Not even the first time that they had...okay, whoa. Bad thoughts there. Wrong track, back up. Iruka was crying. _Why_ was Iruka crying? And what was with the Ofuda?

Iruka took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"I was in Hokage-sama's office finishing up the new genin teams with her when this man came in. He said that he represented some organization that helped people like...like Naruto. That they wanted Naruto and had an edict from the Lord of Fire Country to get him. Tsunade-sama told him to fuck off. He said it didn't matter because they already had Naruto anyways."

He paused and wiped his eyes again. Kakashi felt his own blood boiling and pulled the other man a little closer.

"And then?"

"And then I ran to Naruto's apartment. It was a wreck. Everything was trashed there were burn marks from chakra on the walls...and Naruto wasn't there. I found the ofuda on the floor...whoever took him knew how to incapacitate demons."

Naruto was like a son to Iruka, everyone knew. Probably the only son the man would ever have. Not to mention Kakashi himself had come to look upon the boy as a family member of sorts. And to have the blonde ripped away like this...Kakashi gave the brunette a quick embrace.

"Give me one minute."

* * *

Given Naruto's initial reaction to the situation, he was quite sure that Gaara was going to kill him. However, the redhead was merely staring at him, the earlier scowl softening slightly to a hard frown. Well...that was a good thing, right?

The blonde sat up, rubbing at his temple with his free hand. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. I was blindfolded when they took me here."

Naruto gaped at the other boy. Waitaminute...Gaara was a kick ass ninja. Almost as good as himself! And Gaara didn't have the disadvantage of walking exhaustion to slow him down.

"I know how they got me, but how did they get you?"

The Sand nin was very quiet for a moment, but then spoke in a low voice. "The village handed me over."

"_What_?!!" To say the blonde was outraged was an understatement.

"They...approached Kazekage with an edict from the Lord of Wind Country. And Kazekage happily turned over their troublesome pet demon."

"But...your siblings!"

"Temari and Kankuro...tried to stop them, but Kazekage threatened treason if they disobeyed this. I...didn't want them to suffer so I went with the men."

Both boys sat in silence for a long moment before Naruto spoke again in a fierce tone.

"But you're incredible! I've _seen_ the power you have; you could have just kicked their asses once you were outside of the village..."

Gaara shook his head, red locks darkened to a rusty blood color in the dim light. He held up the wrist the handcuff was attached to.

"They placed these on me before we even left the village. I was also blindfolded and weakened by wards. They know what they're doing, this group. They also took away my gourd."

Naruto drew a sucking breath, his eyes squeezed tightly and his hands balled into fists by his side. His moral outlook was enraged at how carelessly Hidden Sand could throw away one of its own. Especially one like Gaara.

"It's not fair...you've been hurt so much already..."

Light green eyes widened at the words and quickly returned to normal.

"No, it's not." He answered softly. "But...life isn't fair. And...I know my sister and brother would have fought for me if I had let them. But I didn't want them to be harmed, so its better this way."

Naruto sighed heavily, all the righteous anger he had built up deflating out of him. Well, what could they do? They were both stuck here together, where ever 'here' was. A sudden pain in the side of his head flared up again.

"Ow..." he winced.

Suddenly, slim pale fingers were gently taking him by the chin and turning his head.

"Let me look. You were beat up pretty bad when they put us together. The ofuda from before and the handcuffs now are blocking your chakra so you're not healing like you probably should be."

"How'd you know I heal fast?"

Gaara 'hmm...'ed tilting the blonde's head this way and that. "You're like me. I don't get hurt often. But when I do, I heal quickly."

He found a small jagged cut near Naruto's temple that was still oozing blood slowly. The crimson liquid glinted in the light, calling to him. Acting without thinking, he leaned down and licked at the wound.

"_The hell_?!!" Naruto tried to jump back, off the bed he lay on, but forgot about the handcuffs and only succeeded in yanking Gaara, arm-first and flat on his stomach on to the bed. Naruto himself ended up on his butt on the cold tile floor his right arm dangling slightly above his head.

"Oof."

Gaara snarled. "Try that again and I _will_ kill you, sand or no."

"You _licked_ me!!" cried the blonde, scandalized.

A light flush of red crossed the sandnin's cheeks and Gaara mumbled something unintelligible into the mattress.

"What was that?"

"Sorry...the blood craving still happens sometimes whether I want it or not."

Naruto glared at the redhead above him. And then leaned up and licked the 'ai' tattoo. Gaara gave an equally scandalized sound and immediately clamped a hand over the spot.

"There. We're even." Naruto growled.

"Who's the pervert now, Uzumaki?" Gaara growled back.

The door opened. In walked a man in a black suit with slick black hair and glasses.

"So nice to see you gentlemen are getting along."

Immediately, both boys hackles raised and they scooted closer together, some primal part of them saying that there was safety in numbers and they really needed it right now.

The MIB looked down his long nose at them. "Get up. Now."

"Fuck off." Naruto spat.

Gaara glared a glare that usually sent most people screaming in terror.

The man looked less than impressed. He walked forward until he was in front of the pair. Reaching out a casual hand, he touched the length of chain linking the two demon vessels. The symbols engraved on the metal flared a bright purple and incredible pain raced up their arms and spread through their bodies with the force of a lighting strike. Naruto grit his teeth to muffle a scream of pain and Gaara gave a grunt.

Then, as quickly as it had happened, it was over. But it left both vessels panting from the pain. The man stepped back and smiled at them. Naruto had seen that smile before. Kabuto had the same type of smile. The creepy one that said 'Oh, I'm quite harmless, but I really want to see your own intestines used to bind you. Hold still a moment while I do just that, won't you?'

"Now, then, let's try this again. Get up."

Grudgingly, they stood up next to each other. The man continued to smile.

"Very good. Now, I suppose you gentlemen wonder what's going on, hmm?"

Naruto opened his mouth to make a smart ass reply, but Gaara grabbed his arm and squeezed. The blonde shot him a puzzled look and the redhead gave a minimal shake of his head. If anything, the man's smile widened.

"Well, I see one of you has learned some restraint. Now, as you know, you are both very special."

They glanced at each other and gave a mutual roll of eyes.

"Of course, by 'special' I mean vicious, blood thirsty and unfit for society. In fact, neither of you can be classified as human, really. You both pose a great danger to society and all those around you."

Naruto had his head bowed, his eyes shadowed, and was shaking visibly. Gaara had gone stoic and emotionless as a doll. The man continued to list their flaws, classifying them as vicious animals that could not be trusted and would slaughter at the slightest chance. Each sentence hammered in years of abuse and childhoods of horror and loneliness for each boy, ripping open old scars and causing fresh blood and pain to spew forth.

Slowly, through the lecture of verbal abuse and pain they had moved closer together; sensing a kindred soul and ally in each other, until they stood thigh to thigh, their cuffed hands intertwined and hidden behind their backs. _You're not alone_, their clenched hands reminded each of them. _No matter what he says, you're not alone._

The man finally paused. "Both your villages have finally seen the dangers you pose and wished to be rid of you. Which is why you are here."

He strode over to the door and motioned for them to follow. Turning on a heel he exited to a white corridor lit with florescent lights. Silently, they followed.

"This, gentlemen," He gestured to corridor. "Is a place for people such as yourselves. This is where society sends its freaks and outcasts. Its demons, its mutants, this is where humanity sends its garbage."

He paused before a large metal set of double doors with a heavy bar and code box to the right side. "My name is Sato, little demons, and I will be your master and god here. The only reason trash such as you is still living is because I allow it. Remember that well."

The boys continued to stare at him with blank, dead eyes. He smiled, positively delighted.

He laid a hand on the code box and entered an unseen combination. There was whirling sound and the metal bar retracted and the doors creaked as they opened. Beyond lay a large fenced in area of land.

Grass and flowers grew in much of it. To one side there was a medium sized pool of water and a little beyond that a grove of oak trees. But the thing that had the blonde and the redhead staring in a awe were the inhabitants of the area. Everywhere there were people. Many who looked human, some who looked slightly not.

A little girl with an unusually flat head played near the pool of water. Behind her a woman with multicolored long hair and a long nose looked on. A boy sat leaning against one of the trees, his upper body the same color and design of the bark, his lower the color and texture of grass. A man with a reddish tint to his skin and white horn in the middle of his head leaned against a wall.

Everywhere the two looked there were people who, more or less, reminded them of themselves. Sato smiled his oily smile.

"Welcome to Purgatory, Little Demons. Pray that God and I have mercy on your wretched souls."

* * *

D'oh!! I forgot to mention that Sato wears glasses in the first part! Baka neko! Baka! Sigh...yeah. One Piece fans? Think Kuro Neko/Black Cat when picturing him. I realized halfway through that that who's he reminded me of.

Also, why are Gaara and Naruto so close so quick? Umm...well, I think the blood thing speaks for itself. I imagine poor Gaara still gets a craving for it every now and again...and besides, they're both locked together in this wierd ass place, knowing only each other and then this guy comes in and starts digging into every doubt and insecurity they've ever had about themselves as human. Umm..yeah, can we say hurt comfort, boys and girls?

I thought we could.


	3. Down with the moral majority

Hehe...Just in time for Naruto's B-day! Yay!

Right. So...sorry about the wait. And Kakashi is still a bitch to write. _Glares at the Jounin_

I was kinda worried that Kishimoto was going to take the story in the direction I want to take this, but since it's gone a completely different direction, I no longer feel worried about playing up the angle that I'm going to here. (heee...cryptic enough for you?)

Disclaimer (again, to be safe): Not mine, not mine! All Kishimoto-sensei's, and Viz...and other peoples.

* * *

Tsunade steepled her hands together and peered over her fingers at the two ninja in front of her.

"I thought I said report directly to me?" she eyeballed the silver haired ninja at Iruka's left. Iruka blushed angrily.

"Hokage-sama, I…"

"Nevermind. If you got him, then something _must_ have happened. Report."

The Chunin took a breath to steady himself. He then proceeded to report to the Hokage the state of Naruto's apartment and the apparent fight that had occurred.

"He obviously didn't go down with out a fight. However…I found this."

Taking out the ofuda he placed it on the large desk that sat between the room's occupants. Brown eyes regarded the slip of paper with disgust and well controlled anger. Tsunade's eyebrows knitted together as her mouth hardened into a frown. Looking down the ward, she eloquently stated one word.

"_Shit._"

The blonde woman thrust herself away from her desk and began pacing the carpet in front of the other two ninjas.

"Okay, so what do we know so far?" she asked, pacing.

"We know that they have Naruto. And that they didn't get him easily." Iruka answered.

"My guess is that the only reason they managed to capture him at all was because we were all exhausted from our mission and the fact that they had those." Kakashi added, nodding to the ofuda on the desk.

Tsunade nodded and continued to pace. "So we know that they can ward demons and we can assume that they rely more on stealth, trickery, and wards than actual strength."

"And political power." The brown haired man added quietly.

Tsunaded nodded again. "And what do we know about this Sato fellow? We know he has the Lord of Fire Country behind him." She began, replying to her own question. "The document he had was real. Which means his political power is probably real also. Which means we can't face him head on."

"Which means we can't send a team out after Naruto." Kakashi concluded.

"Damn it." Iruka said softly, clenching his fist.

Tsunade blinked at the chunin and then cursed loudly. Iruka was cussing. This was not good. Not only had these bastards kidnapped one of her best ninjas, in doing so they had broken apart one of her best field teams _and_ had managed to mess up her _best_ teacher in the process. Oh, they were going to pay…now if she could just figure out how the maneuver around the political webbing…

Kakashi, she noted, was curiously silent. The Jounin was simply staring out the window sleepily. And then, he spoke.

"Hokage-sama, may I ask permission for vacation time?"

Tsunade blinked, taken aback. Iruka stared at the other man and then lunged at him. Grabbing the Jounin by the vest, he slammed him against the wall.

"Naruto has been kidnapped! By people who obviously want him for the Kyuubi and you're asking for a _VACATION!_"

The silver haired man blinked down at the smaller man with one eye. "You should come too, Iruka. You've got vacation days saved up from the Academy, right?"

The chunin snarled, slamming Kakashi against the wall again. "What _hell_ is wrong with you?"

"He's brilliant!" Tsunade declared, snapping her fingers.

Iruka blinked. "Eeh?"

"Think about it, 'ruka. You and me, all alone. We'll go anywhere you like." Kakashi grinned through his mask.

Iruka felt his jaw drop at the callousness of it all.

Tsunade grinned. "And if you two just _happen_ to look for and find Naruto, well, that's certainly not Konoha's fault. You were on vacation. _I_ certainly can't dictate what you can and can not do with your own leave time."

The brown haired man just stared at Kakashi for a long moment. And then he kissed him hard through the mask. The silver haired Jounin quickly got out of the other's grasp and took full control of the kiss, making it clear that he could have escaped whenever he wished. Iruka had needed the chance to vent though. Although, this was a much better way to vent, Kakashi thought.

"OI! OI! OI! Take your celebrations elsewhere!" Godaime cried in the background.

Grinning, Iruka spun around. "Hokage-sama, I ask for permission to use my vacation days!"

"Hai, hai…just stop making out in my office." She waved a hand at the couple.

Walking back to her desk, she sat and looked at the two before her. "When do you plan to leave?"

"The day after tomorrow." Iruka responded immediately, with a determined look on his face.

Kakashi nodded. "It'll take us a day to make arrangements. I feel I should inform Sasuke and Sakura of the situation as well."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Yes. But make sure they understand how fragile a political position we're in as well. The last thing we need is for Uchiha to go tear assing after the Gaki."

She paused for a moment. "You may want to start looking around some of the other villages. If Sato and his organization managed to gain political power in Fire they may done the same in other countries as well. …Didn't Hidden Sand have a boy similar to Naruto?"

The silver haired Jounin nodded. "Sabaku no Gaara. It's as good a starting place as any."

"Good luck and have a nice vacation, gentlemen." Lastly, she said rather softly. "And make sure you bring our number one hyperactive ninja home with you."

* * *

Explaining the situation to Sasuke and Sakura could have gone better. To say that the other members of team 7 were outraged would have been an understatement. In Sakura's case alone Kakashi thought the term 'homicidal rage' more descriptive.

"We're coming with you." Sasuke said plainly.

"You can't." Kakashi replied.

"Naruto's our teammate too! We're coming with you!" Sakura argued.

Kakashi sighed. They were obviously going to have to do this the long way.

"Look, this organization has enough political power to make the Kages back down. If it looks like a team is being sent after Naruto there could be serious repercussions for all of Konoha."

He cast Sakura a pleading look with his uncovered eye. She had always been the most sensible one.

"You and Iruka-sensei are going." She said stubbornly.

So much for sensibility.

"Iruka and I are on vacation." He replied.

"So Sakura and I will ask for vacation leave as well." Sasuke said, as if that settled everything.

He looked at the dark haired boy. Sasuke had his mouth set in a stubborn line, his arms crossed and feet apart in the very posture of determination. The bright crimson of sharingan eyes proving just how furious the teenager truly was. Sakura was in a similar position, her green eyes dark with fierce determination and loyalty.

Kakashi smiled fondly to himself. He done a fine job of instilling the notion of teamwork and loyalty into these three, if he did say so himself. Perhaps a bit too well. They were worse than a nin dog with a bone when it came to protecting each other.

"Iruka and I are going because _we_ can pull off looking like a couple on vacation. It won't alert anyone. However, if the _four_ of us, four of us who all find Uzumaki Naruto very important to us, go then questions may be raised. Such as, if we might actually be looking for him…questions that can get Konoha in a lot of trouble."

He looked to see if his words had had any impact on his students. Sakura bit her lip in a worried fashion, as some of the logic behind the decision sunk in. Sasuke on the other hand…the dark boy's expression was shadowed by his bangs as he looked at the ground.

Sasuke clenched his fists and glared at his sensei.

"So, I'm just suppose to sit around here and _wait_ for you to bring him back?" the boy ground out slowly. "I'm suppose to sit here and wait like a good boy while these people are doing who knows what to Naruto? Just do missions like normal when he could be being tortured or experimented on or even killed!"

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said gently.

"NO WAY! I refuse! That idiot never gave up on me…even when he should have…I'm sure as hell not going to give up on him! I'm going with you! I _have_ to go with you!"

Sasuke looked as though he might cry. Neither Sakura nor Kakashi could remember seeing him this sad ever.

"He's my best friend. I can't just leave him. He's like the brother I should've…" He caught himself. "I can't just leave him. He's the only one…I can't. You _have_ to take me with you."

Sasuke threw himself forward to grab the Jounin's vest and look up at him.

"I can't…"he trailed off in a low voice, hoping Kakashi would understand.

Kakashi sighed and put a hand on the boy's head, pulling him closer until the metal of the forehead protector rested against his chest. "We'll bring him back, Sasuke. I promise you. We'll bring him back."

He felt the dark haired boy nod slightly and then let go. Stepping back, he looked at the two remaining members of his team. Sakura looking up at him with wide green eyes full of worry and hope, and Sasuke who still had his head down so his face was shadowed with his bangs. He nodded at them.

"We'll bring him back."

And then he left in a whirl of wind and leaves.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked gently.

Sasuke slowly lifted his head and looked at her. His eyes had returned to their normal black, but were filled once again with determination.

"We follow them." He said simply.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

"We wait a few days to give them a head start, and then we follow them."

The pink haired girl paused for a moment and then nodded. "He's ours as much as he is theirs."

Sasuke looked up at the sky.

"Just you wait, Dobe. We'll find you."

* * *

Purgatory actually didn't look that bad. There was a field of flowers, trees, grass, a small lake of water over to the right, and the blue sky stretched out wide overhead. Of course the fact that they were both warded, chained together, and here against their wills kind of made the view a moot point.

They had been forced through the door by previously unseen or felt guards while Sato had continued explaining their facility. A bit of wilderness for the wild animals, he had said with that same oily smile. They were still chained together. The handcuffs, he explained, wouldn't be removed for another day or so. Once they were sure the demons had settled down and all that.

Naruto highly doubted it was the demons they were waiting for to 'settle down'.

It was odd, the residents of the yard had glanced at the new additions just once as they had been pushed in, but then had immediately returned to what they had been doing. Only the woman with the multicolored hair had studied them intently and even then she had turned her attention back to the pond when the little girl tugged on her sleeve.

"There are no guards." Gaara said beside him.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. And there are plenty of openings. This place's defenses suck." The blonde replied looking around.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. That fucker can talk about how much a threat to society we are until monkeys fly out his ass, he's just talking shit." It was to remind himself of his humanity just as much as it was to remind Gaara.

Without thinking, he took the redhead by the hand and began walking towards the wall near the pond. There was tree there that would do nicely for leverage upward. However, he was stopped short in his task by a jerk. It was like tugging on an unmovable object and expecting it to move freely.

Looking backwards, Naruto glanced at Gaara who was looking intently at their clasped hands.

"Oh. Sorry, man. I didn't think, I just figured with us chained together 'n all…"

Gaara shook his head. "No…it's fine. It's just…different."

Naruto coughed and then blushed a little. And then frowned as he wondered what he hell he was blushing for. He tugged on their hands.

"C'mon, that tree over there looks like we might be able to use it to climb over the wall."

The redhead remained silent, content to let the Leaf ninja lead. He didn't like this place. The people here may look like them, but they didn't even seem curious about the newcomers. And there were no guards here in this open area. It seemed too easy. But then again, maybe he was just being paranoid. He was good at that after all.

They passed the multicolored hair woman and the little girl. The woman glanced up at them with a snort and rolled her eyes. Gaara furrowed his brow. Now why would she do that unless she knew something they didn't? He looked ahead to try and get Naruto's attention, but they had already reached their destination.

"Okay, this is gonna be hard chained like this, so you've gotta climb up with me. Okay?" The blonde said, blue eyes darting from branch to branch trying to puzzle out the best route. Gaara remained silent for a long minute.

"I don't think this a good idea."

"Why do you say that?" The other boy looked at him with closed fox eyes.

"That woman back there…she rolled her eyes when we passed. Which means she probably knows something we don't."

"….Don't you want to at least _try_ to get out of here? Even if it means a little pain?"

"………….Alright."

They began climbing. It was easy. The branches were sturdy and it was easy to get to one from another. The wall that ran along the perimeter was close enough to touch and the tree easily reached the top of the wall. It was too easy.

Gaara felt that sixth sense that had always alerted him to danger flare.

"Naruto, Don't—" he called just as the blonde's fingertips reached the top of the wall.

Wards flared, power running to Naruto's screaming body through their shared manacles and into him. The pain was agonizing. It was all he could feel until he felt them start to fall. They fell with a thud and the wind was knocked from his body as he hit the ground, then again as the fox boy fell on top of him.

"Ow." Gaara managed once his breath was back.

Sitting up, he cradled the body on top of him.

"Uzumaki?... Naruto?"

No response.

Panic flashed through his mind. What if the other boy was dead? What if his one ally in this asylum had broken his neck in a stupid escape attempt? His link to humanity. What if …?

"_Naruto!_" Desperation creeping into his voice.

"Ow…did we get 'im, sensei?" Came the groggy response.

Relief flooded through the Sand nin as he hugged the other's body closer for a brief moment. _He wasn't alone_.

"Gaara…?"

"Yeah."

"We're still here, aren't we?"

"Yes, there were wards at the top."

"They got you too?"

"Conducted through the chain. And that was not 'a little' pain."

A long moment of silence.

"I'm sorry."

Gaara shrugged. "As long as you're not dead, it's okay."

"Thanks, I think?"

They both paused as laughter floated through the air. Laughter that was clearly aimed at them. Turning, they saw the woman by the pond wiping away tears of mirth as she looked at them.

"That, was possibly the dumbest thing I've ever seen." She told them.

Naruto bristled. "You could have informed us that the wall was warded!"

She followed her arms and regarded the pair. "I did. You just didn't pay attention."

"The eyeroll." Gaara said from beside the blonde.

"Well, at least one of you actually seems to have some ninja skills." She said, flipping a few locks of red and orange over her shoulder.

"The hell! Lady, what is your problem!" The leaf nin jumped to his feet, dragging a snarling Gaara up with him.

"What did I tell you about doing that, Uzumaki!"

"Oh, sorry…but this chick!"

The woman let out a second round of bright laughter at their expense. The multicolored layers of her hair rippled like feathers as she laughed. The two demon vessels stiffened with anger. She finally stopped laughing and regarded them with bright black eyes.

"Y'know, if you're going to survive around here, you'll really need to control that temper. Both of you. And you'll need to learn not to take stupid chances."

She studied them again and spoke with arrogant smile. "But then again, that really might too much to ask of Kyuubi no Kitsune and Shukaku."

* * *

Yay for you if you can figure out who (or what) the woman and the little girl are. You win an offical Cneko No Prize.


	4. Cuz I wanna be the minority

Ummm....right. Well then. Yah. It's only been like, what? 3 years? 4? *ducks* Okay, so pleases remember. This totally was started pre-time skip so Gaara is not all sweet and Kazekage. Also, I'm taking this in a **_completely_** different direction that Kishimoto-sensei ending up going, so no pointing out about bijuus and whatnot, kay? Athough I really dig some of the stuff that's happened so I may shove it in. (Sakura' being a medic nin for example) Still not sure yet.

So...here's to hoping its not another 3 years before I update again. Enjoy~!

* * *

Naruto froze at the last words spoken. Beside him he could feel Gaara do the same. Eyeing the woman cautiously, the blonde edged closer to his chained companion. "…How do you know those names?"

She snorted, looking down her long nose at the two. "Am I the _only_ one of us who hasn't repressed their _entire_ past?"

"Oh trust me, I don't think I could repress meeting you no matter how hard I tried." Naruto muttered under his breath. Beside him Gaara remained frozen. But he could feel the faint swirling of chakra as minerals below the ground began to grind into sand.

"_Don't_." He hissed. "After my last bright idea, I don't know if I could handle another jolt."

The sand nin gave the young man beside him an incredulous look. He then stilled the chakra, but cut his eyes at the blonde. "I suppose that you admit it was stupid is a sign that there may future for you after all."

"HEY! Where do you get off—"

Gaara held up a pale hand for silence before the tirade could continue. Hard green eyes returned to the brightly colored woman, boring into her. "Explain."

She arched one fine eyebrow at the pair and crossed her arms. "And if I should choose not to?"

"Then we'll kick yer ass and beat the information out of you!" Proclaimed Naruto.

"As he said." Gaara added quietly.

"As if you could. However for the sake of harmony, and the fact that we are all stronger together than apart, I suppose I will comply. _However_," she pointed regally. "I will have your names first. It's common courtesy."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Sabaku no Gaara."

The woman nodded, her feather bright hair rippling. "Very well. I am known as Yamamori Kazue. I was of Hidden Stone before being brought to this hellhole. " She then turned to the little one by the pond. "Mi-chan, come introduce yourself."

The little girl with silvery blue hair and a peculiarly flatish head came up quietly behind Kazue. She looked up at them with silvery eyes and then bowed shyly, speaking. "This one is called Mizuno."

Naruto smiled at the girl, she reminded him a bit of Hinata-chan in her younger days. "Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. And Mr. Grumpy Sandy-pants over here is Gaara." He elbowed the redhead chained to him.

Gaara growled at the Kyuubi vessel and yanked his arm, causing the chain to yank Naruto into him almost. Once he regained his balance the blonde shoved the other back a bit. The gentle rough housing may have taken a turn for the worse had a low blood thirsty growl not echoed through the groups' little patch of Purgatory.

The chained pair went on immediate defense. After all they had been through, a sound like that was something to take seriously. Who knew when the men in black could come back and change their minds about wanting to keep the two demon vessels alive?

"It's not _polite_." Growled the source, little Mizuno of all things. "You should not _fight_ in front of people you just meet and you should _bow_. It's _polite_!!"

"Bow, you idiots." Kazue commanded, her dark eyes flashing in warning.

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other. The blonde shrugged and bowed forward in greeting, tugging gently on the chain to the tanuki boy to do similarly. Gaara grunted softly but leaned forward slightly.

The growling abided and Naruto looked up at the little one who seemed to have the faint outline of…scales? Were those scales on her face now? He looked from Mizuno to Kazue and back, puzzled.

The woman sighed as if no one in the world suffered as she did. "Mi-chan, go play with the frogs for a bit longer, ne?"

The little girl blinked, nodded once bobbing her silver-blue hair, and then ran off back to the pond. Kazue then turned to the two young men. She eyed them both for a moment and the shook her head.

"You're both dumber than I originally thought. You'll never survive if you can even remember the basics. You can't even remember to be polite in front of a Kappa."

"Hey, who're you…wait, Kappa?" The fox boy tried to wrap his head around the idea.

"Kappa vessal, more specifically. Like the rest of us. You really don't remember do you?"

Kappa…something in the back of Gaara's mind stirred. Something with Shukaku…youkai….Shukaku stirred slightly, still groggy and in pain from the wards. The redhead sniffed the air experimentally and then stared hard at Kazue.

Naruto felt the boy next to him freeze. He followed the other's gaze to the older woman. "Gaara? Oi, Gaara what's wrong?"

Kazue simply crossed her arms and gave the tanuki vessel an expectant look.

"Tengu."

"So you do remember, or rather Shukaku does. Don't be certain if that's a good thing."

"Tengu? Kappa? What the _hell_ is going on here?"

The blonde failed his arms a bit in exasperation at the situation. In response, Kazue walked to a tree, walked up it, and sat comfortably on a branch. She waved an arm in the direction of the ground near the trunk.

"Sit down, children. It's story time."

"I'll stand, thanks."

"Your choice, but it's a long one."

Gaara grabbed the chain and moved towards the ground, yanking Naruto along. "We should hear her out. Sit, Uzumaki." The blonde grumbled but took a seat.

The tengu woman looked down her nose. "Comfy? Good. Now, as you may or may not know, there are several different kinds of demons in the world. Occasionally, these demons, whether through sealing or their own will, will get human vessels. If unwilling it usually sucks for the human, but small time youkai usually have crap for power and can be taken out by a squad of ambitious genin on a bad day. So its usually not so bad for the human."

"I'm sensing a 'however' coming up here soon."

"And they say blonds are stupid! Oh wait."

"Can we please continue on with the discussion and how may possibly get us out of here?" Gaara ground out.

Feathered hair flicked over a shoulder, as she clucked. "So impatient, Gaa-chan. But yes, there is a however. _However_, there are larger more powerful spirits out there. Spirits rather than mere demons, because _spirits_ are elementals. Four total. One for each element."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with _us_?"

"Oh, I thought a bright boy like you would have figured it out by now, Uzumaki. Kyuubi no Yoko…sometimes called the 'Fire Fox'? That's not just some run of the mill demon you've got inside you boy! Its' the gods damn _spirit of fire_." She glared down at the two.

Naruto looked at Gaara wide eyed. "If….if that's true then….then that means…."

"Earth." The redhead replied, eyes calculating. "The sand…the reason earth is so easy to control…"

"Bravo. You've figured it out. You two aren't in here because you're a danger to anyone. You're here because you've got two of the primordial elemental spirits sealed inside your miserable hides." The tengu carrier pulled a fan from the kimono sleeve of her top and began playing with it idly.

"Welcome to Hell, boys. Because now that they've got all of us the world as we know it is officially over."


End file.
